"There is a forgotten, nay almost forbidden word,
which means more to me than any other.
That word is ENGLAND." - Sir Winston Churchill

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Nursery school teacher's two sons slipped out of Britain to join ISIS and one may already have died in battle

Khayerul Miah, 21, and brother Thahirul, 23, fled to Syria earlier this year

Mother Rana Begum, 44, has been told one may have been killed in fighting

Mrs Begum works at Torriano Infants School, Kentish Town, north London

Growing anger after school did not tell parents about the men joining ISIS

School said Mrs Begum is a 'valued' teacher and 'renounces' sons' activity

Two sons of a nursery school teacher have left Britain to join ISIS - and one is believed to have been killed in battle.

Khayerul Miah, 21, and his brother Thahirul, 23, are said to have fled to Syria from their homes in Kentish Town, north west London, earlier this year.

Their mother Rana Begum, 44, has now been told by police that one of her British-born sons may have died fighting for the terror group. It is believed that it was her who initially told police that they had fled the UK.

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Khayerul Miah, 21, has left from his home in Kentish Town, north west London, to fight in Syria for ISIS alongside his 23-year-old brother Thahirul

But Torriano Infants School, where Mrs Begum works as a nursery school nurse and teacher, had not officially told parents about the brothers joining ISIS until today.

This morning, the school insisted that Mrs Begum - who worked at the school for 18 years - is a 'valued member of staff' who poses 'no threat' to pupils, adding that her sons' radicalistaion had been 'a personal tragedy'.

A friend of the family, 20, said: 'As far as I'm aware she called the police and said they had travelled to Syria.

'She called the police to say her children have flown to Syria. Take that heartache and add it to not knowing whether one of your kids is dead or alive - it's heartbreaking.'

He added that Khayerul 'did not have a bad bone in his body'.

He said: 'It was heart breaking to know he fled there. It's sad he's been groomed like this. He was one of those people who worked hard and wanted to do something with his life.'

In a statement issued this morning Luca Salice, Chair of Governors, said Mrs Begum completely 'renounces' the activity of her two sons.

In a letter to parents, it added that the school was 'disappointed' the matter had been shared in a public forum.

The statement read: 'The mother of the two young men is a valued member of staff at Torriano Primary School and she completely renounces their activity.

'The school immediately followed the agreed procedures for safeguarding children by contacting both the Metropolitan Police and the Council 'Prevent' officers, who are responsible for responding to threats of radicalisation.

'The police and prevent team investigations concluded there was no indication the two young men had been radicalised by their mother and no further action should be taken as she poses no threat to pupils in the schools.

'We take our duties under the Prevent Strategy very seriously - we report suspicious activity to the police and have a strong safeguarding practice to counter both sexual exploitation and radicalisation.

'Torriano is proud of its record in fostering community cohesion within its diverse community.'

The mother of the two young men is a valued member of staff at Torriano Primary School and she completely renounces their activity

Luca Salice, Chair of Governors

They added: 'This was a personal tragedy for this member of staff and her family.

'We call upon the media to respect her grief and to remain mindful of the feelings of staff and the impact on pupils and parents.'

Today, there were three meetings for parents to answer any questions about the situation.

The majority of parents seemed satisfied by the school's steps to inform the police who then vetted the teacher.

Meanwhile, friends said police have searched the family's home - a three-bed flat valued at around £750,000 - and taken away computers.

The brothers' father Shamshad Miah, 49, is believed to work as a taxi driver and is on the executive committee of the local mosque. Neighbours say they have another brother who remained at home.

Today, neighbours told how the brothers seemed like normal children and that their mother was a 'good teacher' who would have been devastated by their radicalisation.

John, a neighbour who has one child at Torriano taught by Rana, said he would defend the teacher from 'toffee-nosed' parents who may call for her to quit.

The father-of-two, 50, who declined to give his surname said: 'Their son's may have gone to Syria but at the end of the day they have been corrupted by somebody else. It's not their parents' fault.

'We've got a big meeting at the school about this tonight. If they try and say she should go I will stick up for her. She hasn't done anything wrong. She's a good teacher. She is good at her job.'

Another neighbour, Jay Kay, added: 'Regardless of how her son died, she's a human being, she's got emotions and she's got feelings, they need to be respected.

'She's a great woman and her husband is a great bloke.

They are a humble, working class family. They wouldn't hurt a fly. They have been misguided by horrible people, they were manipulated and brainwashed.'

One neighbour Sam, 63, said the brothers seemed like a normal pair and were part of a 'normal family' but he never saw them play with other youngsters.

'I haven’t seen them for a while. I said "How’s your brother?" and he said, "He’s alright" but two weeks later I heard he died.;

He added: 'They are all normal. I wouldn’t have thought they would do anything like that but people can be deceptive.

'I must see the dad twice a week. He’s a minicab driver for Addison Lee I think. He’s a good man. I can’t say anything bad about him.'

Around 750 Britons are thought to have travelled to join ISIS, including teenage girls, while about 450 have returned to the UK.

Police say the returnees pose a significant threat yet only a handful have been prosecuted. Instead they are being referred to the Government’s Prevent strategy which aims to deradicalise extremists and change their thinking.

Yesterday it emerged that a suspected extremist is walking Britain’s streets despite being arrested on the Syrian border in September.

Waheed Ahmed, 21, and eight relatives, including a one-year-old, were picked up by Turkish police who feared they planned to join the Islamic State terror group.

They were all deported and Ahmed, a student whose father is a Labour councillor, is now a regular sight in Rochdale. He is one of a number of suspected extremists released without charge in Britain after being stopped at the Syrian border.

THE BRITISH JIHADISTS WHO HAVE DIED FIGHTING IN IRAQ AND SYRIA

Reyaad Khan, 21, who joined ISIS after leaving his home in Cardiff in 2013, is said to have died in an air strike in July

Around 750 Britons are thought to have travelled to join ISIS, including teenage girls, while about 450 have returned to the UK.

Of those, around 60 are believed to have died in battle. Earlier this month, Mohammed Emwazi - known as masked executioner Jihadi John - was killed in a drone strike, having gone to Syria in 2012 and appeared in a number of ISIS videos in which hostages were beheaded.

Former student Reyaad Khan, 21, who joined ISIS after leaving his home in Cardiff in 2013, is said to have died in an air strike in July, while another British jihadi, known among extremists as Abu Qudama Al-Britani, was reported to have died in January.

One of the first known deaths came in July last year when Ifthekar Jaman - a 23-year-old from Portsmouth who described his life in the Middle East as 'five star jihad' - was killed fighting for Jabhat al-Nusra.

His brothers Tuhin Shahensha, 26, and Mustakim Jaman, 23, were last week jailed for six years each after being found guilty of preparing terrorist acts.

In September last year, four British men were killed in a single U.S. airstrike in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Among then was 19-year-old Ibrahim Kamara who was born and raised in Brighton.

Other British fighters who have been killed in the fighting include teenaged brothers Abdullah and Jaffar Deghayes from Brighton, East Sussex.

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One of the first known deaths came in July last year when Ifthekar Jaman (pictured) - a 23-year-old from Portsmouth who described his life in the Middle East as 'five star jihad' - was killed fighting

Jaffar, 17, is believed to have died in October last year trying to overthrow dictator Assad's government. Abdullah, 18, died in Latakia province in April last year after leaving the UK in January to reportedly take up arms with al-Nusra.

Names of other British nationals known to have died in Syria include Abdul Waheed Majeed - a 41-year-old suicide bomber from Crawley; Kabir Ahmed - a 30-year-old father of three from Derby who blew himself up in July; and Abu Abdullah al-Britani and Abu Abdullah al-Hajar, whose names are known but whose life and death details remain clouded in speculation.

Those killed are referred to my their jihadist friends as 'green birds' in reference to passages in the Koran that talks about martyrs living in the hearts of green birds in paradise.